


SCENE: THE PANOPTICON

by faedemon



Series: oh, for one sweet second without the eye [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: "TMA is a tragedy" lives in my brain rent free, A Litany of Possible Endings, Beauty - Freeform, Character Study, Confliction, Death, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider, Post-Apocalypse, Screenplay/Script Format, The Eyepocalypse, The Mortal Garden, as much as beholding can be considered an outsider at least, basically: jon likes beholding and he hates himself for it, its so loose though so like sort of prose sort of script, season 5, the character death tag is a POSSIBLE character death, written as of MAG 171
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24765982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faedemon/pseuds/faedemon
Summary: YOU ARE UNSATISFIEDOh, you fucking think? You took everything from me.I TOOK NOTHING FROM YOUYou might as well have.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, The Beholding & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Series: oh, for one sweet second without the eye [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791034
Comments: 27
Kudos: 106





	SCENE: THE PANOPTICON

**Author's Note:**

> once again [the apple of the eye](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24398515) by gocrazygostupid lives in my brain rent free.
> 
> anyway this is a sort-of sequel to I KNOW / THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME. like, i definitely see it as continuing on after that fic's ending, but this can be read independently.
> 
> dialogue taken from MAG 171, 160, and 166, in that order.

BEHOLDING watches over the world and universe, all of which trembles obediently beneath its gaze. It observes worlds away from Earth, which scramble desperately to reconcile the new order, or lack thereof, without any forewarning. It observes Earth, most of which scrambles in the same frantic, childish way, and it observes THE OVERSEER and THE ARCHIVE.

It observes JONATHAN SIMS.

Beholding is a great, unblinking eye that swallows the sky. All perceive it differently, though those who fear the gaze of a human eye the most generally see it as green. JONAH MAGNUS, The Overseer, sees it this way. Jonathan Sims, The Archive, does not. To him, THE EYE is brown.

* * *

SCENE: THE MORTAL GARDEN, domain of THE FLESH, home to JARED HOPWORTH. He is seen in the far background attending to his plants. In the foreground, The Archive and boyfriend MARTIN BLACKWOOD overlook the garden with differing expressions. Martin is disgusted. The Archive is, above all, resigned.

The Archive feels the rising compulsion to take the domain’s STATEMENT. As audio of his and Martin’s conversation fades in, he begins to give in, before Martin snaps him out of it.

THE ARCHIVE

It takes a skilled gardener to get them to grow like this. The curled, cascading intricacies of collagen and marrow. It takes devotion—

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

  
_Jon._

THE ARCHIVE

Sorry.

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

You sound like you think they’re beautiful.

THE ARCHIVE

Don’t you?

Beholding observes impassively as The Archive takes the garden’s statement and proceeds to use its gaze to obliterate Jared Hopworth. It does not mind its Archive’s machinations; in fact, it’s rather curious as to where this futile quest to un-end the world will take him, especially with Martin at his side. Even now, it watches as THE WEB tugs at Martin’s wrists, watches as The Archive’s hopes grow ever bleaker, watches as Jonah Magnus follows their progress with smug apathy.

Beholding does not know if the world can be un-ended, but even if it can, it does not believe that The Archive will be able to do it. Not because he _wouldn’t_ —it’s part of Jon’s charm that he so desperately tries to distance himself from The Eye, even while endearing a certain camaraderie with it—for Jonathan Sims would kill himself to be able to put the world to rights, for the sake of his ASSISTANTS.

No, The Archive won’t be able to fix things because Beholding will not let him.

* * *

SCENE: THE IN-BETWEEN. Martin and The Archive march toward the next Fear’s domain. Beholding watches, ever-present. At some intervals, tape recorders or phones crop up, trying to get The Archive or Martin’s attention, respectively. A little more than halfway to their next destination, they break for rest, not for any biological reasons but simply to rejuvenate their morale. Martin moves off to refresh himself, leaving The Archive alone. He looks back toward where The Mortal Garden is still visible on the horizon, and frowns.

  
CONFLICTED?

THE ARCHIVE

( _startled, nervous_ ) What?

  
YOU ARE UNSETTLED YOU THOUGHT THEM BEAUTIFUL

THE ARCHIVE

I don’t—

The Archive UNDERSTANDS.

THE ARCHIVE

Oh. Yes, I suppose I am. I don’t see you helping me with that, so why talk now?

  
YOU HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO ME IN SOME TIME

THE ARCHIVE

I’ve been speaking to you every single time we go through one of these god-damned places.

  
THAT IS NOT THE SAME

THE ARCHIVE

Tough.

Beholding does not speak again, for it Knows that its Archive wouldn’t respond. Martin returns eventually, and they carry on.

* * *

SCENE: THE SAFE HOUSE, just as the world has ended. Martin is frantically trying to wake Jon up. He slaps him, and The Archive snaps awake, gasping. He is slammed immediately with the Knowledge of what he has done, and how the world has changed. There is a tense, frantic exchange between them before he goes to the window.

Beholding watches, eager to see his reaction. It reels when The Archive looks up and THEY MEET EYES. The world seems to churn. Everything is MORE. Everything is DIFFERENT. The Archive and Beholding SEE EACH OTHER.

THE ARCHIVE

  
_Oh, god._

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

I don’t know if it’s just _here_ , or—

THE ARCHIVE

No. No, it’s everywhere. They’re all here now. I can feel— _all_ of it.

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

Jon, I’m scared.

THE ARCHIVE

( _reverent_ ) The whole world is afraid, Martin. Because of _me_. And the Watcher drinks it all in.

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

Jon—?

THE ARCHIVE

Look at the sky, Martin. Look at the sky! It’s _looking back_.

Beholding watches, fascinated, as The Archive LAUGHS, and then begins to CRY. Martin holds him. They are both kneeling on the floor of the sitting room, Jon half-collapsed in his beloved’s arms. Martin assumes, as a human would, that Jon is simply overwhelmed. Horrified, so much so that laughter was the only reaction he could muster. The Eye knows better.

The Archive has always loved its patron. Hated it, certainly, regretted it, revulsed it, but loved it all the same. There is a reason those who become avatars do, and those who don’t are consumed.

Beholding loves its Archive, too. It is fascinating to watch him cling to what it once meant to be human: love and honesty and loyalty and hope and standing up against evil. But what is evil, really, when the placeholder is another follower of your same god? Is it evil to eat? Evil to know? Evil to grow a garden?

Living things have always been afraid. Is it good to want to eradicate fear? If one did, what would be left? What would stop anyone from doing anything? What would stop growth? What would stop death?

The Eye and its fellows have their place in the chain. In this new world order, eventually all will be swallowed by DEATH, and Death will swallow itself, and so the world ends, in truth. Beholding Knows this, as does The Archive, as does The Overseer, no matter how he fights letting the knowledge sink in.

Is it evil to be?

* * *

SCENE: The in-between. HELEN stands before The Archive and Martin. They are having an uncomfortable conversation, though it only seems to truly be uncomfortable for one party. Beholding watches.

THE ARCHIVE

—I’m _ashamed_ , Martin.

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

Ashamed?

THE ARCHIVE

_Yes!_ Ashamed of the fact that I’ve—destroyed the world and have been rewarded for it, the fact that I can walk safe through all this horror I’ve created like a _fucking tourist_ , destroying whoever I please. The fact that I _enjoyed_ it and the fact that there are _so_ many others that I still want to revenge myself on!

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

No, no I think you’re actually good on that front.

THE ARCHIVE

What?

MARTIN BLACKWOOD

Yeah, I, I, I think we should go for it, get our murder on!

THE ARCHIVE

( _incredulous_ ) Sorry, _what_?

It would be fun, if Beholding had a concept of fun, to watch The Archive dance around the fact that he relishes the apocalypse. He enjoys his violence, looks forward to the avatars he’ll get to obliterate. He _likes_ the new world order, and he tries to keep it from Martin even as he betrays himself, hinting at the truth of his views, and he’d still kill himself to put things to rights but that doesn’t change the ugly inkling of happiness growing in his gut.

And here, Martin encourages him. He doesn’t understand how deeply The Archive _enjoys_ it, of course, Jon knows that, but Beholding might grin if it had a mouth at how tempting Martin’s encouragement really is. The sweet, delectable idea that The Archive’s beloved might _approve_ of the Fear he could instill. The intoxicating prospect of two lovers lording over a world under their control, the only opposition Death on the distant horizon.

Beholding Knows as well as The Archive does that this is not what Martin means to convey. But Jon feels it anyway, and the obliteration of Jude Perry, Jared Hopworth, and more to come is a concession all the same.

* * *

SCENE: THE PANOPTICON, a possible ending. The Archive confronts The Overseer. Beholding watches.

Jon does not give Jonah time to speak. He calls upon the Watcher, and because it loves its Archive more than it loves its Overseer, it responds, and the last expression on Jonah’s face is a delectable terror. And Jonah is obliterated, and The Archive realizes the full extent of his power over the world. And he trembles.

He and Martin try, valiantly, to find a way to put things back. But no avenues present themselves, and no amount of searching turns up any leads, and all the avatars who hate them are gone and all the avatars who like them are unhelpful. The world remains ended. The Archive is privately relieved. They learn to cope, and live on.

* * *

SCENE: The Panopticon, a possible ending. The Archive confronts The Overseer. Beholding watches.

The Web’s machinations have made themselves known through Martin. There is a way to put the world to rights, and The Archive taunts The Overseer with this knowledge before calling upon the Watcher to kill him. It obliges, and then he, Martin, and ANNABELLE CANE go about preparing the cure. They activate it, and nothing happens. Beholding will not let the world go.

Martin cries. He cannot blame Jon for any of this, as it is not in his heart to do so, but a distance grows between them all the same. Martin wanders alone. When he finds The Lonely again, he allows it to take him. Jon mourns, for a time, before The Archive goes back to watching, and he settles in at the Panopticon like The Overseer once had done. And he watches.

* * *

SCENE: The Panopticon, a possible ending. The Archive confronts The Overseer. Beholding watches.

The apocalypse has gotten to Jon by now. He knows he should want to fix things. He knows he should want to put it back together. But Knowing is so enticing, and The Overseer’s words are blasphemous in their glory, and Martin’s pleas are weak in the face of a god. Jon succumbs.

Martin is forced to kill him. He retreats, finds ALICE “DAISY” TONNER, and sets her loose. The Archive is too fond of them both, still, to run. Beholding lets Jon die, curious. An Archive has never existed before. An Archive has never died before.

It is boring. He dies as any avatar would, at the hands of THE HUNT: simply. Totally.

Martin sets Daisy on The Overseer as well, who fights, and succeeds in hiding for a time, but eventually Daisy sniffs him out. He dies, too. Brutally.

The apocalypse remains in the wake of them. Martin can do nothing else.

* * *

SCENE: The Panopticon, a possible ending. The Archive confronts The Overseer. Beholding watches.

The Archive calls upon Beholding to kill The Overseer. It does not respond, for it wishes not to kill one of its own. Jonah laughs at Jon’s idiocy, and in the same breath offers him a place at his side, with the condition that he be rid of Martin’s useless weight. Jon refuses. They leave.

There is much deliberation over what to do, where to go, who to find. After time too much to quantify, they come to the conclusion there is no way to fix things. They trek back through the Fourteen to the safe house, which waits, unassuming and mildly sentient. They settle, unhappy and unsatisfied, but together. Far off, The Overseer smugly basks in their complacency.

* * *

SCENE: The Panopticon, a probable ending. The Archive confronts The Overseer. Beholding watches.

Martin is dead. It matters not at whose hands. Jon lashes out viciously at The Overseer. Beholding obediently eviscerates Jonah Magnus, and nothing changes for it except that The Archive took his anger out on someone he hated. The world does not un-end. Martin Blackwood does not come back to life. Jonathan Sims stands in the Panopticon, alone with a dead body and the lingering dust of the man he’d just vaporized, who had once occupied that body. For good measure, Jon asks Beholding to vaporize the original Jonah Magnus as well. It does, and The Archive is alone.

  
YOU ARE UNSATISFIED

THE ARCHIVE

Oh, you fucking think? You took everything from me.

  
I TOOK NOTHING FROM YOU

THE ARCHIVE

You might as well have.

  
YOU STILL LIKE ME

THE ARCHIVE

I hate you.

  
YOU STILL LOVE ME

THE ARCHIVE

I know.

There is silence, for a time.

  
THIS IS ALL THERE WILL EVER BE, UNTIL DEATH TAKES US

THE ARCHIVE

Suppose it was too much to hope that you all could be shoved back where you came from.

  
I WOULD NOT GO

THE ARCHIVE

I know. You were right, by the way.

  
I AM RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING

THE ARCHIVE

( _ignoring this_ ) I did think it was beautiful. The Mortal Garden.

  
I KNOW

THE ARCHIVE

Did you think it was?

  
BEAUTY MEANS NOTHING TO ME

THE ARCHIVE

But did you?

  
YES

**Author's Note:**

> so...... yeah. sorry. beholdingjon lives in my brain rent free. i have used that phrase three (3) times now on this fic and all of them are equally true. if you liked this, please let me know in the comments!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: the possible endings included in this fic are not necessarily endings i think will actually happen in TMA canon. i have my theories which i may eventually share, but y'all should know that this fic operates under the idea that beholding will not _allow_ the apocalypse to be undone.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Indemnities](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25807210) by [ChaiFighter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaiFighter/pseuds/ChaiFighter)




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